The primary role of the DE&I Committee is to help gather and disseminate information as well as to advise the Chair on strategies, policies, and activities to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Department. The goals of the Committee are to promote diversity at the trainee, staff, and faculty levels and to ensure that all members of the Department feel welcomed as essential participants in our overall academic and research missions. To achieve these goals, the DE&I Committee will liaise with members of the Department to identify broad issues that need to be addressed, and develop resources and approaches to resolve the issues that are identified. The Committee will communicate the issues and approaches to the Chair, along with suggestions on how to implement them. The Committee will meet monthly to discuss ongoing efforts, evaluate progress, and set future goals as the Department environment evolves. The minutes of each meeting will be made available to the Department in an MBox folder.
Pharmacology Feedback
As part of the department’s efforts to be a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable place, it is important to establish ways for all members of the department to provide feedback, seek guidance, and report discrimination and harassment. Any information you share is confidential and you won’t be penalized for speaking up.
If you would like to provide input, feedback, or ideas on how the Pharmacology Department is doing in terms of its DE&I efforts, please complete Pharmacology Department DE&I Feedback Form, which will be sent to the Pharmacology DE&I Committee. You may submit the form anonymously if you prefer. Please share with the DE&I Committee what is working, what is not working, and what can be done differently to advance DE&I efforts in the department and the University of Michigan.
WHAT IS A PERSONAL PRONOUN?
A pronoun is a word that refers to either the people talking (like I or you) or someone or something that is being talked about (like she, them, and this).
Personal pronouns (like he, hers, ze) specifically refer to people that you are talking about. Below are several of the more common personal pronouns and their usage. However, this is by no means an exhaustive list and one should feel free to use what is most comfortable to them.
- Subjective Pronouns: She, He, They, Ze
- Objective Pronouns: Her, Him, Them, Hir
- Possessive Pronouns: Her/Hers, His, Their/Theirs, Hir, Hirs
- Reflexive Pronouns: Herself, Himself, Themselves, Hirself
Learn more about personal pronouns here: https://spectrumcenter.umich.edu/article/designated-pronouns
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO RESPECT DESIGNATED PERSONAL PRONOUNS?
Many times, a person's appearance and gender/gender expression and identity are not the same. This can lead to making assumptions about people that sends a potentially harmful message. Knowing and sharing personal pronouns is one of the most basic ways to show respect for a person's gender identity and expression.
When someone is referred to with the wrong pronoun, it can make them feel disrespected, invalidated, dismissed, alienated, or dysphoric (or, often, all of the above).
In addition, given Taubman’s international population, we don't always know how people prefer to be referred as based on their names. Using gender pronouns can help us teach and learn about the many names and appropriate pronouns from around the world.
WHAT IF I MAKE A MISTAKE?
It’s okay! Mistakes happen.
If you use the wrong pronoun, acknowledge the mistake, correct it, and then move on.
If you forget someone’s personal pronouns, follow the same protocol: acknowledge the mistake, correct it, and move on.
PERSONAL PRONOUNS AT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
As part of the University of Michigan’s commitment to fostering an environment of inclusiveness, the Office of the Provost created a process for students to designate their preferred personal pronouns with the University and have those pronouns reflected on class rosters.
One can see how to make this change to your pronouns within Wolverine Access by clicking here. Faculty and staff can also designate pronouns.
Given the transition to remote learning, online conferencing platforms like Zoom and Bluejeans are our most common way to conduct class. Both platforms offer up opportunities to change your displayed name and can easily include the phonetic pronunciation of your name. Please follow this quick guide to learn how to change your display name temporarily or permanently in Zoom and BlueJeans.
Students are encouraged to speak with their professors and peers about how they would like to be addressed. Faculty and staff are also encouraged to speak with their supervisors and co-workers about their preferred personal pronouns.
EMAIL SIGNATURE
As a way to guide people to use the personal pronouns you prefer and show solidarity for intersex, transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people, we invite you to add the statement below to your email signature under your name (please change pronouns to match your gender identity/expression):
"Pronouns: she/her/hers (Click here to learn more about pronouns)"
Including personal pronouns in our signature can also signal that we want to learn and share with others how we/they want to be referred as, potentially sending a rippling effect to others to adopt the same practice.
Have you had to correct how people pronounce your name? Have you ever wondered how to pronounce someone’s name? Being able to pronounce someone’s name correctly is important in creating an inclusive environment. Given the uncertainty of in-person learning, it is now more important than ever to build connections with your peers and properly learn how to pronounce their names to build community even while physically distanced.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Student’s socio-emotional well-being and world view are impacted by the way instructors and peers pronounce their names. Mispronunciation of someone’s name can lead them to shy away from their culture and families. In some cases, people prefer to Americanize or not use their name at all to avoid having to constantly have to teach people how to pronounce their name. This can result in an environment with a lack of trust and communicates disrespect.
This op-ed article, titled “Names That Are Unfamiliar to You Aren’t ‘Hard,’ They're ‘Unpracticed’” offers excellent insight into what it can feel like for someone with an unfamiliar name in American society today.
HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?
Virtually Learning Environments
Given the transition to remote learning, online conferencing platforms like Zoom and Bluejeans are our most common way to conduct class. Both platforms offer up opportunities to change your displayed name and can easily include the phonetic pronunciation of your name. Please follow this quick guide to learn how to change your display name.
Faculty
Encourage your students to change their name to include their preferred pronunciation in virtual meetings. You can serve as a role model by also changing your name.
Everyone
Make every effort to address students by their preferred name and follow the pronunciation they indicated. If you still make a mistake or are having trouble with the pronunciation, ask for help and be patient! We are all working hard to make everyone feel welcomed and included.
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE?
Contact Joana Dos Santos, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at [email protected].
You can also check out Pronounce Names website (which now offers an Android app) or Voice of America's pronunciation guide to become familiar with how to pronounce any name.
For help in pronouncing Chinese names, you can check out this quick guide on pinyinpronunciation, literally 'spell out the sound'. It is a system for romanizing Chinese ideograms, used in mainland China for Mandarin Chinese.
Under the leadership of Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion & Chief Diversity Officer Robert Sellers, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) leads and supports university-wide initiatives focused on the recruitment of a diverse faculty, staff and student body, while fostering an inclusive and equitable university community.
The Spectrum Center at University of Michigan is a collaborative space in which all members of the University and local community are welcome. Through collaboration and partnership efforts, the Center supports students to thrive in a diverse society and globally. The Center works toward enhancing the campus climate and support services for LGBTQ+ students, staff, and faculty at the University through education, advocacy, and community building.
The Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) provides free and confidential crisis intervention, advocacy, and support for survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking and sexual harassment who are University of Michigan students, faculty and staff. All services are free and confidential to the University of Michigan community and are provided by professional SAPAC staff members and include Crisis Intervention, Advocacy, and Support Groups.
The Center for the Education of Women provides academic, financial, and professional support through career and education counseling, funding, workshops, events, and a diverse, welcoming community to empower women to reach their full potential.
The Rackham Graduate School partners at multiple levels with every school and college on campus to ensure the quality of graduate education, encourage innovation, and build a vibrant and diverse student community. Thus, their focus is on providing resources to graduate students from masters through PhD in any program at UM.
The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies provides resources and support for current graduate students, postdocs, and postbacs in the biomedical sciences. Thus, OGPS is specific to those training in biomedical sciences at UM, whereas Rackham encompasses all graduate education at the University of Michigan.
The Office for Health Equity and Inclusion develops mechanisms for inclusion, diversity and cultural sensitivity among faculty, students and staff at Michigan Medicine (UM Medical School and Hospital). OHEI also advances clinical care for under-served patient populations through research and education. Under the leadership of David J. Brown, MD, Associate Vice President and Associate Dean for Health Equity and Inclusion and Phyllis M. Blackman, MBA, Administrative Director, OHEI's goal is to transform health care and ensure health care equity.
